Glimpses of Olympus
by Kalira69
Summary: A collection of Greek mythology minifics from the Three Sentence Ficathon on Dreamwidth.
1. Wait for Me (HadesPersephone)

These vary in character focus, ship, and theme (although Hades/Persephone feature heavily) but were all written for the Three Sentence Ficathon run by **rthstewart on Dreamwidth.**

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Written for the prompt Greek Mythology, Hades/Persephone, wait for me.

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Hades stood and watched his wife move about the room with willowy grace as she gathered some of her jewels and clothes, thinking _must you go_ \- though he would never say it, and he _knew_ she must.

Persephone suddenly turned and flung herself into his arms, her hands winding clingily into the cloth at the small of his back. "Wait for me?"

"Until the Styx runs dry." Hades promised through a painfully tight throat, closing his arms desperately around her in return.


	2. My Mother's Daughter (Persephone)

Written for the prompt Greek mythology, Demeter & Persephone, a woman's rage is like the winter.

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They whispered how cruel she had become, how her husband's cold and harsh rule must have seeped into her bones.

Persephone merely arched a brow, smote another mortal man with a curse well-earned, and returned to her mother's arms; those warm, loving arms that had cast the entire world into barren ice to die in her wrath at being denied aid for her missing daughter.

Persephone was Queen of the Underworld, but she was her mother's daughter above all.


	3. Song of Spring (Persephone)

Written for the prompt Any fandom, any, Bees?.

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Nestled comfortably in the wild grass, against the rich earth, Persephone smiled and raised a hand, though she didn't open her eyes. A tiny tingle as little feet landed on her outstretched finger, walking up her hand towards the flowers growing about her wrist and arm, fuzzy body tickling her skin.

The buzz of happy bees filled the spring meadow, blending peacefully with the joyous voices of her anthosai, raised in welcome.

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Anthosai are flower nymphs.


	4. A New Queen (HadesPersephone & Demeter)

Written for the prompt Any, any/any, falling in love with the wrong person.

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"You _cannot_!" Demeter said, aghast. "You are not trying to tell me- It's impossible." she snapped.

Persephone was no longer a maiden who quavered to her mother's temper, or tried to justify herself with trembling, hesitant words, however, and she stood tall as she met Demeter's eyes, wearing a sweeping spring green gown, a belt of her own flowers, and a crown of silver set with precious stones.

"I love my husband, mother, whether you would it be so or not," Persephone said, and her voice was light and soft as ever, but strong and sure as only befit a queen, "and I will take my place as Queen of the Underworld."


	5. Cold Welcome (HadesPersephone)

Written for the prompt Any fandom, any characters/pairing, cold hands.

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He pauses, holds back before he touches her, knowing his hands to be as cold as the winter that now falls to shroud the mortal world above in her absence.

Persephone doesn't hesitate, bold and bright as only shows more strongly in his realm of shadows and creeping shades. "Welcome me home, husband." she orders with a playful lilt, and clasps Hades' hands in her own to wrap his arms around her; she leans up against him, her soft body pressing close as he ardently embraces her.


	6. Death of Spring (HadesPersephone)

Written for the prompt Greek Mythology, Hades/Persephone, _four hundred bones, crumpled in bed/i'm the only one who knows that you're still breathing_.

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Hades passes like a shadow through his own palace, back from walking the mortal realm and hearing their wailing laments echoing off the ice that coats the world.

He pauses in the doorway, looking into the dark of the bedchamber; there is a crumpled and still heap in the night-blue sheets, and he sighs as he settles beside his wife. "They mourn for you." he tells her softly, not to hurt her - she has been crying for weeks, and every crystalline tear is a spike in his heart - but in hopes that she will return to her duties, for much as he longs to keep her, she belongs to the mortal world as much as his own. "Will you not go to them once more?"

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This one has minor grammatical structure edits from the original posting.


	7. Caught (HadesPersephone)

Written for the prompt Greek Mythology, Hades/Persephone, _and everything i ever did/was just another way to scream your name_.

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When Persephone is finally free and walks once more in the mortal realm, living flowers beneath her feet and her anthosai dancing around her, she rejoices, dancing herself as spring _erupts_ , flowers going wild and fields surging with life as she laughs and spills yet more power from her fingers with careless passion.

She loses herself in the open fields and the breath of life . . . for mere weeks. Then Persephone begins to find herself longing for the cool security of the Underworld, for the surprised adoration in the eyes of the shades when she walks among them, when she brings flowers to them, for . . . for the quiet reverence in her husband's eyes and his touch, his lips on her brow and his cool hands at her hips and breast.

And Persephone's hands tighten and her eyes harden and life still spills freely around her but now it brings tangleweeds to choke other plants, and thick brush that snares the unwary, tearing at those who would pass by force, and births that come perilously too soon, for Persephone realises now that she lives in a constant trap, never to choose her own path but forever passed between two worlds.

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This one has minor edits from the original posting.


	8. Last Spring (HadesPersephone)

Written for the prompt Greek Mythology, Persephone, _the world blooms/for the last time_.

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"Are you sure, my love?" Hades asked, his arms still folded around her waist, and Persephone tilted her head, leaning back against his broad chest.

"They deserve this. They deserve an ending." she said softly, snuggling into him for a moment and then stepping out of his embrace. Persephone drew a deep breath and spread her hands wide, letting the power of spring fall from her fingertips for one last time, bringing blooms to a dead world.


	9. To War (Ares, Aite, Athena)

Written for the prompt Any, a Trickster, mischief managed (or not).

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Aite fled the crumbling temple, cackling, and darted hurriedly behind her Uncle, who stiffened at the wind of her passage and whirled in time to catch Athena's blade on his own.

"You want a war with me? You have it!" Athena thundered at them both, her teeth bared, then turned sharply on her heel and stormed away.

Aite giggled, pressing her face against Uncle's shoulder. "Do you think," Ares said to her, chuckling, "she will ever realise that is _exactly_ I want, which they always give me?"

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Aite is a minor goddess, Eris' daughter, of mischief, delusion, folly, and ruin.

This one has minor edits from the original posting.


	10. Entourage (HadesPersephone, Thanatos)

Written for the prompt any, any or any/any, the shadows come out to play.

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Persephone paused half a step into her husband's study, then sighed, letting the door close behind her and gesturing pointedly. A bright, happy-looking stand of asphodel sprouted out of nothing, leavening the heavy shadows creeping in curling tendrils and eerie shapes around the room as she swept past Thanatos with a huff.

Hades raised an eyebrow at her and Persephone rolled her eyes, moving through the shadows - one half-animal shape batted at her ankle, but she ignored it - to settle into her husband's lap comfortably; was it _her_ fault Thanatos was so . . . over-dramatic?

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This one has minor edits from the original posting.


	11. A Goddess Denied (Ares, Hecate)

Written for the prompt Any, any/any, _I saw your shadow in the doorway, looking straight at me._

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Ares ran the buffing cloth the length of the blade in his hand and hummed approvingly, testing the pad of his thumb on the edge and satisfied by the sharp bite of it. "What do you want, Aunt?" he asked, not looking up, well aware of the not-quite-there figure in the doorway.

Hecate walked out of the shadow, striding directly towards him, and Ares finally raised his head - partly out of respect, partly curiosity as he noted the fierce-looking puppy following in her wake. "Athena," she hissed, her night-coloured eyes glittering, "she has commanded her peoples to turn away from me. I _wish_ your aid in . . . reclaiming them."

Ares hummed, intrigued - a good war with Athena was always . . . fun.

Hecate gestured to the puppy, which trotted forwards, a little clumsy on paws it had yet to grow into. "A gift, for the favour." Hecate said with a tiny smile, and Ares raised a brow. He had some few - _very_ few - of Hecate's dogs in his packs, and she was very particular about them. It was a mark of pride that she would allow him to take them.

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This one has minor edits and has been slightly expanded from the original posting.


	12. Master's Voice (Cerberus, HadesPerseph)

Written for the prompt any, any/any, music bringing us together.

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Persephone shook her head, perched high up and out of reach but perfectly well able to see as Cerberus snapped and growled and whined - at himself, one set of ears laid back aggressively, another quirked with confusion, the third pressed down flat avoiding the snapping fangs of the first. . .

Hades approached the huge dog fearlessly, hands held out but empty of collars or chains, and she could see his mouth move as he crooned to the great guardian - created, once, by someone who no doubt never thought of a dog's simple mind trying to comprehend self-yet-other in such a way as Cerberus must always live - and stroked his necks.

Cerberus calmed slowly under his master's gentling hands, heads lowering and beginning to move in concert once more, tail wagging as all three sets of ears perked and his muzzles snuffled at Hades' chest. Cerberus panted happily under Hades' touch as he stroked the huge, threatening jaws, mouth still shaping a low song Persephone, watching with a smile, could only just hear in the trailing edges.

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This one has been slightly edited from the original posting.

(When I first posted this on the Ficathon, I almost mislabelled it as 'Cerberus/Hades/Persephone' which . . . Er. No. Though on the other hand . . . Greek mythology.)


	13. Darkness Bounds (Hecate, Artemis)

Written for the prompt Any, any & any (or any/any), creating spells and other magical potions.

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Hecate threw a spiralling handful of starlight into the shimmering bowl before her and glanced over her shoulder. "What is it you truly wish, little cousin?" She asked, arching a brow, her dogs stirring in the shadows around them with curiosity.

Artemis paused and moved forwards, bold and unafraid but _upset_ , and Hecate crooned an undertone of query for she truly did wonder, and she truly would offer aid to her young cousin if asked, if wanted, if worthy.

Artemis' jaw firmed and her eyes were hard as she met Hecate's gaze. "A spell to bound _my virgins'_ lands, the paths their feet tread when they are not in my forests. The mortals have become afraid," she grinned fiercely, one of her own dogs snapping playfully beneath a stroke of her hand, looking smug, "but the others. . ." Her mouth twisted with distaste and fury Hecate had tasted herself. She narrowed her eyes and inclined her head to her young, wild cousin, offering that understanding.

"Help me seal it for you, and we will make such a spell they will recall the strength of your maidens' wildness for a thousand years." Hecate promised, shadows gathering and plinking one by one into the moon-bright potion before her. "Whatever foolish male seeks to cage them." Be they mortal or god, or even Olympian, let them taste the curse of a wild woman's rage when her obedience was unwarily, unwisely sought.

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This one has been edited and expanded slightly from the original posting.


	14. Blood and Beauty (AresAphrodite)

Written for the prompt Any, any, "What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil".

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Ares looks down at the ruby wash of blood and wine on the floor and cringes, just a little, then tilts his head to take in the lovely mistress of this dreadful, mangled event. Aphrodite laughs and almost skips as she twirls lightly around the floor, plucking a wine glass from amidst the disarray and sipping from it with relish, though Ares could not swear to its contents being wine and not blood.

"Is it not a _beautiful_ sight, lover?" Aphrodite asks with bright and biting tones, sliding a hand over Ares' bicep and leaning in close; she smells of flowers and blood and sex, and he closes a familiar arm around the delicate dip of her waist. "A scene fit for the wedding of one who can _rival a goddess_?"

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This one has some minor edits from the original posting.


	15. Warmth (Hestia)

Written for the prompt Any fandom, any characters, baking cookies.

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". . .eh, what?"

"Sit down." Hestia repeated, flapping a hand that somehow managed to be both imperious and welcoming before returning her grip to the spoon in the large bowl in the crook of her arm, using it to turn a thick batter. "Be comfortable and tell me, little darlings, all about it. See if I can make you feel better, help you."

Hestia's offer to all of her family - a warm smile and the welcoming embrace of a loving hearth, sugar and rich baking smells thick in the air, an open mind and simple advice.

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This one has been edited slightly from the original posting.


	16. Mother's Grief (AresAphrodite)

Written for the prompt Greek myth, any, there's nothing I can do when she cries for you in her sleep.

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Ares jolted awake, a sword sparking into being in his hand, only to forcibly relax his tensed muscles and banish the sword an instant later as he recognised the sound which had woken him. He twisted and looked down at Aphrodite, still asleep at his shoulder, her hair splayed out around her, crying perfect, crystalline tears and whimpering their son's name.

Ares sighed, moving to slide his palm over her cheek and then her shoulder, aware there was nothing he could offer, and that if he _woke_ her it would yet offer no respite.

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Because the Cupid/Psyche incident was totally a problem _for Aphrodite_. Sure.

This one has minor edits from the original posting.


	17. Scourge of War (Ares, Eris)

Written for the prompt Any, any, _where you go, I'll follow_.

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Ares paused as his senses twinged, twisting slowly and then taking a quick sidestep and- The point of his blade found his sister's throat, and Eris grinned wickedly at him, eeling around it and flinging herself against his shoulder, clinging affectionately as he raised an eyebrow.

"Going somewhere without me, brother?" Eris wheedled, then giggled, harsh and sharp like no other goddess, even as he pulled his arm free and let it rest around her back. "Aw, let me fill your shadow, where I belong. . . Let us hear their _lamentation_ together!"

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This one has minor edits from the original posting.


	18. Under Nyx's Shroud (HadesPersephone)

Written for the prompt any, any/any, laying down in a field of flowers and stars.

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"Come with me. . ." Persephone said, and turned back to him with a smile and a gentle hush when he protested, both hands twined around one of his own. "Shush, husband, only _come with me_."

Hades could deny her smile nothing and followed willingly, even as they passed into the mortal realm under Nyx's shroud. He hesitated only when she finally came to a stop knelt, still clasping his hand. She looked up at him in the starlight with a coaxing smile, drawing him down into a bower that grew higher around them as he obeyed her urging, the flowers shimmering faintly in the starlight, just as she did.

Hades slowly relaxed into the grassy meadow beneath him, the flowers and his wife's hair tickling his skin as she cuddled into his side, warm and soft and insistent.

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This one has been edited and expanded slightly from the original posting.


	19. Wedded Bonds (ZeusHera)

Written for the prompt Greek Mythology, Hera/Zeus, _until the bitter end_.

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Zeus stilled in the doorway and Hera looked up with a thin, tight smile that looked more like a threat, stroking the peahen nestled in her lap.

"What, _beloved husband_ , did you think I would be gone? Would be off in a snit? Oh no," she said, shaking her head and tilting her chin up regally, "just as when we were wed, our fates are bound until Olympus falls and we with it, my love."

Zeus opened his mouth but before he could voice a response his wife rose, cradling the bird in her arms, and swept out of the room into her personal gardens, flanked by several more of the flock, one male fanning his tail and shrieking at Zeus as he went.


	20. First Return (HadesPersephone)

Written for the prompt Greek mythology, Hades/(or &) Persephone, _"Come on home, girl," he said with a smile / You don't have to love me yet_.

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"Welcome home," Hades said, holding out an open hand, low enough that she could have easily ignored it if she chose, and offering a smile, "I- I know this is not where you would wish to be, but you _are_ welcome."

Persephone slipped her hand in his and didn't try to hide her own smile as his steadied, his shoulders settling a little from their tense rise. "Thank you . . . husband." she said softly, the most she could yet offer, watching him from beneath her lashes as he brightened a little, his eyes clear and striking, his mouth looking almost generous now in his relaxation.

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. . .and with that, the Three Sentence Ficathon is closed! If/when it reopens I may reopen this collection and add any further three sentence fics of Greek myth here, but that will be December if it happens, I believe, so farewell for the nonce.


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